Black bears emerge from hibernation, ready to eat

Here's another sign of spring: Minnesota's black bears are expected to come out of hibernation within the next couple of weeks.

"They're going to move around, they're going to get back on their feet, they're going to get oriented to their surroundings, and they're going to start looking for food," said Jami Markle of the Department of Natural Resources.

But here's the bad news, bears: Not many plants are growing yet, so finding food will be a challenge for the animals. Markle said that makes early spring an important time to think about how to prevent human-bear confrontations.

"It's important all year but more important in the spring, to really secure anything that would be smelled or considered by a bear as food around your home." That can include everything from birdseed to leftovers from the weekend barbecue.

Markle said the bears are better off finding food in their natural habitat, rather than from human sources.

Roughly 20,000 black bears live in Minnesota. Most of the animals are found in forests in the northern half of the state, but they are occasionally sighted in the north metro.